FOXBOROUGH, Mass. –The New England Patriots announced that they have released DL Chris Jones and DL Ishmaa'ily Kitchen.
Jones, 25, is a veteran of three NFL seasons with the Patriots. The 6-foot-1, 295-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick (198th overall) of the Houston Texans out of Bowling Green in the 2013 NFL Draft. He was released by Houston at the end of training camp and was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After being released by Tampa Bay after being on the roster for one game, he was claimed by New England. Jones played in 28 games with 23 starts over his first two seasons with the Patriots and totaled 83 tackles and nine sacks. He added nine tackles and one sack in four postseason games. Last season, Jones spent the entire year on the reserve/physically unable to perform list.
Kitchen, 27, was signed by the Patriots as a free agent on Dec. 16, 2015, was inactive in the win against Tennessee on Dec. 20, was released on Dec. 22, and re-signed on Dec. 30. The 6-foot-1, 300-pounder, saw action in the season finale and was inactive for both postseason games with the Patriots. He played three seasons with the Cleveland Browns (2012-14) and spent two games with the Detroit Lions in 2015 after being released by the Browns prior to the start of the regular season. Kitchen originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Baltimore Ravens in 2012 out of Kent State. He was released by the Ravens at the end of training camp and was claimed off waivers by Cleveland. Kitchen has played in 42 NFL games with three starts and totaled 90 tackles.
